In the final talk of his 1974 CHRISTMAS LECTURE series, Professor Eric Laithwaite explores the concept of scientific invention.
Do moments of inspiration and flashes of genius exist or could we set up a school of invention – and, if so, what type of person would benefit most from such an institution?
As he states in his programme note:
"Whatever else there was in the character of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice', there was curiosity in large quantities – and a commendable degree of fearlessness to complement it."